Cry for a Shadow

This article is about the Beatles instrumental. For the Beat Happening song, see Dreamy (Beat Happening album).

"Cry for a Shadow"
Single by The Beatles
B-side	"Why"
Released	27 March 1964 (single) 20 November 1995 (Anthology 1)
Recorded	22 June 1961
Genre	Instrumental rock
Length	2:20
Label	Polydor
Writer(s)	Harrison/Lennon
Producer	Bert Kaempfert

"Cry for a Shadow" is an early Beatles instrumental. It was recorded on 22 June 1961 at the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle, Hamburg-Harburg, Germany while they were performing as Tony Sheridan's backup band for a few tracks, under the moniker The Beat Brothers. It was written by George Harrison with John Lennon, as a parody of the Shadows style.^[1] (The Shadows, who backed Cliff Richard, were the biggest British instrumental rock & roll group at the time of the recording.) It imitates the lead guitar with typical Hank Marvin licks, the melodic bass fills, and even has an imitation during the second middle eight of the famous Jet Harris yell. It is the only Beatles track to be credited to Lennon and Harrison alone.

It was intended to be released as the B-side of "Why", another Sheridan song with the Beatles, but the record company chose to release another song instead. In early 1964, as the Beatles were gaining popularity, the record company Polydor decided to release it, with "Why" changed to the b-side.^[2] According to Bill Harry, editor of the Mersey Beat newspaper, Cry for a Shadow's original title was "Beatle Bop".^{[citation needed]}

It was also released in 1995 as part of the Anthology 1 compilation.^[1]

San Francisco new wave group Translator released a cover version of this song as a B-side in 1983.

Personnel

• George Harrison – lead guitar
• John Lennon – rhythm guitar
• Paul McCartney – bass, yell
• Pete Best – drums^[1]

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} MacDonald, Ian. Revolution in the Head. 2007, Chicago Review Press, ISBN 1-55652-733-0, p. 48
2. ^ "Cry For A Shadow". The Beatles Bible. http://www.beatlesbible.com/songs/cry-for-a-shadow/. Retrieved 2008-08-25. 

External links

• Cry for a Shadow - online audio. Source: Internet Archive. Song of The Beatles with Tony Sheridan from the album The Early Tapes of The Beatles, 1961.